Confronted with an utterly unexpected situation, my brain completely froze.
Atsuko in a gas mask? Of all things, why that? What on earth is going on?
No answer came, no matter how much I squeezed my frozen brain. I should at least make some sense of it to explain to Hanako. But with me not knowing anything, how could I explain anything to her?
Azusa raised a hand silently, while Atsuko slyly approached me and hugged me while greeting. Normally, my thoughts would be racing, but the situation was so messy that I could only sigh.
“Good morning, Mika-nee.”
“…Uh, Atsuko-chan? Can you at least take off the gas mask before you explain?”
The first meeting between Hanako and our Arius kiddos was so chaotic that calling it simply the worst felt like an understatement.
It would have been better if it had just ended there.
“Um, um… Mika-senpai?”
“Hik, Hifumi-chan…?”
When I turned around, there stood Faust, the future leader of the swimsuit masked squad, looking like she was about to summon the Peroros.
Let me clarify. The first meeting between my Trinity junior and Arius kiddos was a total mess that was beyond salvage.
*
After pouring a glass of fruit punch mixed with cranberry, pineapple, and various juices, I took the supplementary class club members and sat at an empty table.
“Hanako-chan, Hifumi-chan. I assume you both know that Arius Branch has newly joined Trinity’s factions?”
“Of course we do, Mika-senpai.”
“Ah… I saw that in the news, but I never thought I’d get involved directly…”
“Well, the first impression’s not exactly great, but both of you are good kids, Hifumi-chan. First, this cute kid here…”
“Wait a minute, Mika-nee. I’ll introduce myself. First impressions are important, you know.”
Atsuko stepped in with a clear and proper statement. It sounded nice, but there was one tiny issue…
“Ahaha… Atsuko-chan, that first impression has already… No, go ahead, I can’t stop you anyway.”
“Okay. Thanks, nee.”
Still, if she’s cute like that, I think anything can be forgiven. Atsuko-chan is the best…!
“Hmm… Being the naive younger sister position is quite powerful. She’s not an easy opponent, Hifumi-san.”
“Ah, y-yes? What do you mean… And, um, we’re definitely meeting for the first time, right…?”
“Oh my. That’s true, sorry, Ajitani-san. I felt oddly familiar with you, and it slipped out.”
“Ah, it’s fine… Wait, how did you know my last name?!”
Anyway, as more people gathered, it certainly got chaotic. Atsuko managed to introduce herself only after Hifumi and Hanako agreed to call each other comfortably. Maybe the combination of their social qualities made things progress really quickly; it was impressive.
“I’m Hikari Atsuko from Arius Squad. I’m now a third-year at Trinity Middle School, and I’m still figuring out my hobbies, likes, and dislikes… But if I had to say, I like flowers and my sister Mika, and I dislike spiders. Nice to meet you.”
“…?”
Atsuko, what on earth are you saying? Saying things that could easily be misconstrued is making my heart flutter for no reason. I can’t reciprocate those feelings since you’re still so young, even if you really mean it.
Honestly, even if the other party were a high school student, it’d be complicated, but a middle schooler…? That’s just pushing it. If it was as a person-to-person connection without the romantic angle, I could feel more at ease. In that case, I could also cheerfully like you back.
“Oh my… You’re quite straightforward. Pushing first using that innocent younger sister position, huh? I learned something.”
“Um, okay, I understand you like flowers but do you have a specific reason for disliking spiders…?”
“Yeah. Their many eyes make me uncomfortable.”
Oh dear. How much did Beatrice despise her that she dislikes spiders for such a reason? That woman must truly be a piece of work. I wonder if Gematria handled her well?
“So, next… would Azusa-chan like to introduce herself too?”
“Yeah, after not giving up, a new life has arrived, so I need to work hard with a new mindset.”
With a resolute nod, Azusa spoke. That’s all well and good, but our Squirrel still has a long way to go. It’s admirable, with that mindset.
“I’m Shirase Azusa from Arius Squad. I’m currently a first-year at Trinity Academy. I’m not exactly sure about my hobbies, but I’m told I’m good at guerrilla warfare and disrupting when utilizing traps and terrain, and performing solo operations.”
“…Whoa, this one’s rather serious.”
“S-sincerely, I’m not sure, but isn’t it incredible to have so many things you’re good at? Coming from a typical person who doesn’t have a specific area of expertise, it feels amazing. Ow, ow…”
“Anyway, are you speaking of the leader of the Arius Squad? From the atmosphere, even you seem to be no ordinary person, so if the leader accepts you… Hmm…”
“Ahaha, compared to Saori-chan, if we’re talking about getting structured, Azusa-chan is more so. And you’ll likely encounter her one time or another. Smart Hanako-chan, you understand what I mean, right?”
I believe Hanako is the best at deciphering hidden meanings instead of just interpreting words directly. Even if she dislikes politics, she’s the type who could rise to the top if she wanted to.
The reason Nagisa only saw Hanako’s grades was that she was ready to relinquish recruiting her into T-party at that moment. If she had realized her true potential, no matter what I said, Nagisa would have been desperate to recruit Hanako into T-party.
“…Should we take your words as meaning that Arius is under Mika-senpai’s protection? That essentially means Pater and the entire Arius are following you… Hmm. Not that it concerns me, but that sounds like a massive headache for many. It seems you’d face a lot of scrutiny.”
“Ahaha, don’t even get me started! Thankfully, I’ve been leaning toward the moderates recently; otherwise, most of the hardliners would be trying to sabotage me from behind the scenes. They’re terrified that I might absorb Arius’ increased power for some strange scheme. Seriously, not all the kids in Arius blindly follow me…”
“Indeed… But looking at how you’re trying to embrace this formerly heretical branch again and avoiding direct confrontation with Gehenna to resolve old feelings under the guise of competition, you’re closer to a moderate than a radical Pater leader.”
“That’s right. In fact, within our faction, there are opinions that we should attack Gehenna with the increased power thanks to Arius, so I get it. They know I’m not just affiliated with Pater but am genuinely an extreme hardliner.”
“Huh? You mean Mika-senpai is an extreme hardliner? That’s hard to imagine…”
“Ahaha, even though I look like this, I do have an extreme dislike for Gehenna. Well, I think I’m currently closer to a moderate than an extreme hardliner. I’ll just say there was something that changed my perspective!”
My original self… or rather, for those in this place who never met Mika, this might be hard to believe. The trigger that led two of the largest academies in Kivotos to head towards mutual destruction was my original self.
From just seeing my current self, it’s like… let’s all get along. Peace peace. We are the Kivotos. Something like that feels stronger right now.
“You must have quite a lot of burdens to bear, Mika-senpai… Is there anything I can help you with?”
In the midst of lamenting to my juniors, Hanako put her hand on my arm and asked. A junior caring about her senpai this much? I was almost moved. If I hadn’t just seen her pressure Hinata earlier, this moment would have been perfect…
For now, it seems Hanako is still unaware that I noticed the change in her behavior. If I keep my eyes closed regarding this part, it could act as a sort of suppressor. Looking at it that way, it might actually be a good thing.
“I truly appreciate the words, but I don’t really think there’s anything that needs Hanako-chan’s help. Besides, this conversation is likely rather boring for the others, so it’s best to leave it here and move on to another topic. Sorry for shifting to such a political talk suddenly☆”
“Ah… I’ve never seen this side of Mika-senpai before. I know in my head that you hold a crucial position in Trinity to be able to count on one hand, but… I always perceived you as a friendly senior who mingles with a regular student like me.”
“Mika-nee is stunning when she’s serious. Especially in battle situations, she’s no less than Sa-chan. Right, Azusa-chan?”
“Yeah. It’s frustrating but incredibly strong. Even the leader has increased the training intensity and duration, saying she was just a frog in the well.”
Now it was Hifumi and Hanako’s turn to be surprised after hearing Azusa’s remark. Since we’ve had fewer occurrences of interacting with T-party or Trinity’s upper management, Hanako probably hadn’t heard how I symbolize T-party’s strength.
Well, but this is a bit…
“Uh… Why has the conversation suddenly turned around to be centered on me…? I think it’s better to return to the previous topic.”
Honest to goodness, hearing conversations revolving around me made my face burn, so I quickly redirected the topic. Especially Atsuko, she’s the worst. Her admiration for me is so obvious, it’s becoming burdensome.
Fortunately, not long after reverting to the original discussion, the kids wrapped up the honorifics arrangement. Though Atsuko is one year younger, since both Hifumi and Hanako seem rather easygoing, they agreed to call each other with ‘~chan’. Except for Azusa.
It seems great if we could add Koharu, a member of the former supplementary class club, but it’s a pity it’s a tough situation to push for that right now. Ideally, something natural would happen where they meet and become friends… But with the number of Trinity students reaching five digits, realistically, that hardly would happen.
Plus, I prefer natural encounters rather than contrived meetings, accumulating memories and experiences to become close. It’s the same whether it’s romantic or friendship. Today’s events were necessary for Atsuko or Azusa’s adjustment to Trinity, so it couldn’t be helped.
“Ah, by the way, do you all know about Momo Friends…”
…I was wondering why it wasn’t mentioned. The symbol of the future infamous swimsuit masked squad leader Faust.
‘Do you know Momo Friends? Peroro, Wavecat, Mister Nikolai, Skullman let’s go!’
As long as everyone gets along, that’s all I care about. That way, I can feel a sense of satisfaction for my hard work.
“…C-cute!!!”
Azusa’s reaction was something I had already predicted, so I wasn’t that surprised. It came a bit earlier than expected, but still.
“Ah, I saw this on a sticker Mika-nee put on her gun——”
Whoa?! Atsuko, that was something I should have never let slip!!!
Should I die? Just die. I’ll jump off the top of the Trinity Clock Tower.
…But as a fan of Wavecat, wouldn’t it be a bit sad if I didn’t get to be part of this conversation? Just dipping my toes in before dying, yeah.
